Campfires In/On Snow

Why would anyone want to build a campfire in the snow?  To get warm of course.   But why not just go inside where it is warm instead of sitting out there in the snow?   Some people enjoy snow camping and other winter sports like snowmobiling, skiing, snow boarding and ice fishing but most campers wouldn't consider snow an asset.   Alternatively, you might get an unexpected snow storm during a camping trip or you might find your self in a disaster situation in the winter.  In any case, if you're out in the snow, a nice warm fire on a snowy day will no doubt be a welcome sight, perhaps the high light of your day.  In a winter disaster, it might even be life saving.  But there are some special circumstances you need to consider when building a fire in or on snow.

First, if you build you fire on top of packed snow, the heat will melt the snow beneath and around the fire.   If the snow isn't very deep that won't be too much of a problem.  But, if you are on deep snow pack, your fire will sink into the snow and drown in melting snow.   Dig down to the earth below, or, if the snow pack is too deep for that, build a platform of rocks or green logs on top of the snow and use that as a foundation for your fire.  If you must use logs, use large, green log to reduce the chance of them becoming additional fuel for the fire.  Wet logs pulled from a stream or lake would be even less likely to ignite.  An even better solution is a metal pan of some sort, like an old car hood or a large water trough or wash tub, if you can scare one up.  The heat from the fire will probably at least partially melt the snow for several feet around the fire, even if it is on a metal pad, turning into a slush pit.  You may need to add some rocks, branches, or chunks of firewood around your fire pit to serve as stepping stones to keep your feet out of the the slush.

Your second major concern is building a fire under trees.   It is always nice to have as much overhead protection from the elements as we can get when we're camping- shade in summer, protection from rain and snow in other seasons.  But building a fire under snow-covered trees is an invitation to failure and nasty surprises.   As heat rises from the fire it will melt and loosen snow accumulated in the branches.  The snow then falls on you and/or your fire, neither of which contributes to your comfort or the success of your fire.  Try to find a spot where there isn't very much snow overhead or get a long branch and try to knock down as much snow before you set up your fire.

Portable fire pits, like my favorite "R2D2" (which is an old washing machine tub), can be used, but unless they are set up on rocks or logs they too will melt into the snow like an open fire, but maybe not as fast.  Using a portable metal fire pit will reduce the chance of your fire igniting a log platform.  I have a leg I can use on my "R2D2" to raise it about 4-6" off the ground.   I haven't tried using it on snowpack, but I expect the heat from the fire will still melt snow beneath the unit since it makes a very good "toe toaster" to get your feet warm, which is one reason I built the leg in the first place.  I have used it with snow all around it and it quickly melted all the snow with about a foot or so of the tub.  My "R2D2" is an old washing machine tub with a center pipe for the agitator.   The center pipe gets in the way of adding large pieces of wood, but it provides a sleeve where I can insert a cut down RV table leg which then fits into a commercially available RV table tripod to lift it a few inches off the ground.  A piece of pipe fastened to an 18" BBQ grill inserted in the top turns the whole thing into a convenient cooking appliance.

If your firewood is exposed to the snow, make sure you brush off as much snow as you can before adding it to your fire.  Large clumps of snow falling from armloads of new but snowy firewood might put your fire out or at least dampen it.   Keep your firewood protected if you can.  Store it in or under a vehicle or cover it with a tarp to keep it out of rain and snow.  Snow on firewood will melt quickly and make it harder for newly added wood to light.  If there is enough snow it can at least partially put out your fire!

On particularly cold days you might want to build more than one fire so you can warm both sides of your body at the same time.  Building a really big fire still only warms one side of your body while it wastes fuel and probably creates unnecessary slush and air pollution.  A couple of smaller fires, or a ring of smaller fires, might work better at keeping you and your companions warm.  Keep an eye on the area between fires as the combined heat will take its toll on the snow and you may soon be sitting or standing in cold puddles.   Overnight those cold puddles will freeze and you could have a serious slip/fall hazard.

Heat from campfires may melt surrounding snow and frozen ground, making it slushy or muddy near the fire.  About all you can do about this is put down something to walk on, find a better place for your fire -- or give up on your fire.  An ideal place to build a fire is on exposed rock, but you can't always find rocky outcroppings.   If you put down something to walk on, try to find something that isn't easily combustible.  Do not use straw, hay, dry grass, or dry pine boughs or anything else that could be easily ignited by sparks or embers from the fire.  If the snow around your fire is deep enough, you could get enough run off from melting snow to drown your fire in addition to making a cold, nasty mess to stand in near your fire.

If it is actively snowing, you will probably want to build a bigger fire than you normally would. Falling snow will have a dampening affect on your fire and you'll need a bigger fire to compensate. Of course, if it is actively snowing, you'll probably want to find shelter from the storm instead of standing out in it around an open campfire.  In this case, you may want to build a large fire in front of a cave, lean to, or other open shelter with a reflector behind it so you can benefit from the heat yet stay out of the falling snow.  Be careful about building a fire in a cave.  Depending on wind direction and speed you may get a lot of smoke inside the cave or the fire may use up your oxygen.  The heat from the fire may cause the rocks that make up the cave to crack as they warm up and conflict with the cold around them.  This could cause pieces to break off and fall on you or could even cause a cave-in!  If you hear cracking sounds in the rock, bank your fire and get out of the cave before it starts to fall on you.  A safer way to heat a cave is to build a fire outside with a reflecting wall behind it so you get some warmth inside for your comfort without stressing the structure itself.  You might also heat some soccer ball sized stones in the fire and roll them into your shelter to serve as radiators to warm the interior.  Just make sure they aren't against anything combustible.  Smaller, softball sized stones make good foot warmers in you sleeping bag too.  Be extra careful putting hot rocks into tents or sleeping bags.  If they are TOO hot they may scorch, burn or even set the tent or sleeping bag on fire!

Heat from your fire may turn snow on your clothing into water.  A lot of winter clothing that is very warm in the snow isn't necessarily waterproof, so melting snow may quickly cause your once warm winter clothes to get soaked and you'll soon be freezing.   Melting that snow into your coat will quickly defeat the benefits of being close to a fire.  You may need to use the fire to dry out your clothes after it has melted the snow and gotten them wet.  It is a good idea to bring along alternate clothing so you have something dry to change into if you get wet.  Try to brush snow off your clothes before it has time to melt or find some shelter to keep snow off your clothes.  Brush off as much snow as you can before you approach your fire or go into a warm place.

Stay warm!